A vast lake of crude oil and a car spinning mid-air above a sea of discarded tyres headline the Saatchi Gallery’s winter exhibition, marking 40 years of contemporary art at the institution.
Founded during the surge of Young British Artists in the 1980s, the Saatchi Gallery opened in 1985 in a former paint factory in St John’s Wood, later relocating to County Hall on the Southbank in 2003 and — after a rather fraught departure — to its current Chelsea home in 2008.
For this anniversary show, the gallery has assembled a mix of long-associated artists, blending new commissions with familiar works from its past.
It’s a difficult exhibition, more of a buffet selection of a wide range of art, aimed to ensure something will please everyone. You might not like the egg sandwiches, but gravitate to the prawn sandwiches, while the vegan selection will probably be pasta and soup.
A bit like the buffet, as you wander around you might be feeling a bit overwhelmed with the selection on offer and wondering if that one is nice or going to be the bit you leave over on the plate.
Being modern art, some of the works manage to live up to the stereotype of being seemingly meaningless lumps and canvases that need a PhD in art theory to understand. Others just hit in the gut and make you gasp in delight.
A warning sign next to a mirrored labyrinth that “visitors enter and engage with the installation at their own risk” is more of an invitation to explore than a warning. And it’s good fun to wander through.
Even if they did call it a maze, which it ain’t.
As you wander around, a smell starts to permeate your senses, of old car garages and petrol stations.
For up here are two amazing works.
Allan Kaprow’s Yard – a collection of tyres you can jump around on, fills a room as spinning overhead is Conrad Shawcross’ upside down car, Golden Lotus, also pumping out a soundtrack by Mylo. It’s quite a stunning effect and one that can only be understood by standing in the room, feeling not unlike an edgy nightclub scene.
Upstairs, almost directly above this is Richard Wilson’s iconic 20:50, a huge room filled with raw unrefined oil. The mirrored effect is almost incidental to the smell rising from the oil, which transforms the space from contemplation into one almost of revulsion.
But also quite captivating.
As an exhibition, they’ve filled two whole floors and nine large rooms, so most people are bound to find at least one thing they will like.
However, as a snapshot of what artists are up to at the moment, the good, the bad and the ugly, it’s hard to beat.
The exhibition, The Long Now is at the Saatchi Gallery until 1st March 2026.
- Standard Ticket: £15
- Concession: £10
- Family (2 Adults & 2 Children): £34
- Child Under 6: Free
Details are here.